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Property-casualty insurer and producer groups are putting a positive spin on the Democrats' dramatic takeover of the U.S. Congress. In our NU cover story this week, a host of political bigs in the industry express confidence they'll be able to work with the Dems who will rule Capitol Hill come January, and speculate that some issues on their agenda might even get a more sympathetic hearing.


The best bet for the industry under the Democrats is in convincing Congress to once again extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act–and perhaps even replace it with a more permanent facility. After all, it was Senator Hillary Clinton who said keeping a federal terrorism reinsurance failsafe in place to support the economy was a matter of national security, while it's been Republicans–especially those in the White House–who have been looking to kill the program and leave terrorism risks to the not-so-tender mercies of the free market.

Then there is federal regulation–whether via an optional federal charter or a federal standards approach, as envisioned in the so-called SMART legislation. I was always skeptical whether a Republican-led Congress–so averse to Big Government in Washington, and so supportive of states' rights–would ever take power away from the states on insurance oversight and hand it to yet another bloated bureaucracy run by Uncle Sam.

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